The Renault Megane RS might be living in a borrowed time as the last ICE-powered hot hatch from the Renault Sport era, but a new Limited Edition model for the Japanese market is set to be unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon. Renault Japon quietly announced the Megane RS Trophy Limited Edition in a press release about its lineup at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon, without including any photos. Details are quite limited at the moment but we don’t expect the special edition to be that much different from the regular Renault Megane RS Trophy. Laurent Hurgon, Renault’s development driver who set the FWD lap record with the Megane RS Trophy R at the Nürburgring back in 2019, will be present at the event.
Mind you, the Renault Megane RS Trophy was
originally introduced in July 2018 and received a mild facelift in 2020. It
comes fitted with a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine producing 296
hp and up to 420 Nm of torque. Power is
transmitted to the front axle through either a six-speed manual or a six-speed
dual-clutch automatic gearbox. While being 20 hp more powerful
than the regular Megane RS, the Trophy loses the title of the most hardcore
variant to the track-focused Trophy R which weighs 130 kg less
featuring chassis and aero improvements.
As reported by Japanese media Response,
the market launch of the limited edition is expected in Spring 2023. The hot
hatch will be showcased alongside the Renault Lutecia Rally5, which is the
rally-spec variant of the Clio (Renault sells the supermini in Japan under the
Lutecia nameplate). The fourth generation of the Megane will soon be
discontinued, giving way to the fully electric Megane E-Tech crossover as its
indirect successor in the compact segment. As for Renault Sport, the fabled
division for the French automaker’s performance-focused models was renamed to
Alpine Cars in 2021 which means there won’t be any more R.S. badged models
following the upcoming demise of the Megane RS.
